DUBAI – Pakistan will take on India on September 19 as the schedule for 2018 Asia Cup, which is set to be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has been released.
The tournament starts on September 15 with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka taking on each other in the opener at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Five teams — Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan have earned a direct entry into the tournament while one of Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Singapore, and UAE will fight for the remaining one spot.
??? The 2018 #AsiaCup schedule is here!
As Asia prepares for a ?-packed cricketing showdown, who’ll earn the bragging rights & take home the coveted ?? Answers coming soon, on Star Sports! pic.twitter.com/iJTwsRfAu2
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 24, 2018
Teams have been divided into two groups of three – Group A consists of India, Pakistan and the qualifier while Group B has Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
Top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super 4 stage where all the four sides will face each other once and two teams with maximum points will play the final on 28th September in Dubai.
India will defend the title. Earlier, the event was scheduled to play in India but later on, the venue has been changed due to political tension between Pakistan and India.